EU calls for protection of Jews and Muslims from discrimination

EU Council headquarters. Photo: Getty Images

The European Union leaders have decided to focus the bloc’s main domestic legal-protection programs on supporting Jews and Muslims over what they describe as discrimination in Europe, The Brussels Times reports.

Brussels issued the statement to mark the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas highlighted the global scale of the problem, saying that nearly two-thirds of the world’s population live in countries where the right to freedom of conscience is seriously violated.

The EU’s internal policy includes specific measures to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, even though there are no examples of persecution of Jews or Muslims in the EU.

In its statement, the EU paid tribute to people targeted for choosing, changing or leaving a religion or belief, for belonging to a religious community or being perceived as part of one, or for having no religion or belief.

As the UOJ reported, Georgia’s prime minister called the Christian faith the foundation of the country’s aspiration to join the European Union.

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